The art of grassroots campaigns across borders

To achieve a unified communication approach when running grassroots campaigns across different countries means keeping the message, branding and strategies consistent while adjusting to local cultures, societies and languages. This involves creating a clear plan that guides all communication, ensuring that the campaign’s central values and goals stay the same and are easily recognised, no matter where the campaign occurs. Several issues often lead to unsuccessful campaigns.

Running cross-border campaigns comes with its own set of challenges, particularly when working across African countries. Navigating the delicate political landscape, where many social issues are closely tied to government agendas, can be daunting. However, with resilience and strategic planning, grassroots campaigns can navigate these hurdles, avoiding unintentional tensions or resistance from authorities or interest groups. This resilience is key to empowering campaign managers to face the significant challenges that may arise.

Beyond political resistance, your organisation may also encounter social challenges. Different regions have unique cultural norms, values, and languages, making crafting messaging that resonates universally challenging. Due to these diverse social contexts, strategies that succeed in one country or region may not work in another. This is often due to differences in social issues, priorities, and levels of public engagement. As if that were not challenging enough, logistical hurdles such as organising events, distributing materials, and ensuring the timely execution of campaign activities across different regions can be both complex and costly. Adding to the difficulty is the need to achieve consistent coverage with limited resources across multiple regions. Balancing localised efforts while maintaining a cohesive campaign strategy further complicates the process. However, forming local partnerships can provide valuable insights and resources, enhancing the effectiveness of the campaign.

Several years ago, we worked with Equality Now to highlight the plight of schoolgirls across five countries and advocate for policy changes. The challenge was to develop a grassroots campaign that effectively communicated to multiple audiences while addressing the issue’s culturally and socially sensitive nature. Equality Now collected anonymously written questions from school students to highlight the plight of the girl child and raise awareness about SDG5: Gender Equality in Mauritania, The Gambia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

To this end, our team created the “Sound of Silence” mobile gallery featuring portable posters that travelled across regions to bring these girls’ voices to the forefront respectfully. It also involved the development of books highlighting the questions from the girls and answers to them by a professional clinical psychologist. Instead of using real-life photos that could cause discomfort, evocative illustrations conveyed their stories with dignity and empathy. The campaign was further launched in English, Swahili, and French to ensure accessibility across different regions.

In Kenya, the campaign’s insights led to the establishment of Safe Houses for girls and legal training for county administrators in Nairobi and Makueni. In Tanzania, the findings contributed to a handbook for schools, helping teachers support girls affected by gender-based violence. The handbook was also translated into Swahili to reach remote areas. The “Sound of Silence” campaign highlighted critical challenges and led to significant policy and practice changes. This campaign demonstrated the transformative power of storytelling and empathy, turning awareness into meaningful action and creating a real difference in those affected across several countries.

Conducting grassroots campaigns across borders is a complex task that requires a nuanced approach. Beyond the practical aspects, such as navigating diverse cultures, political environments, and logistical issues, the key to success lies in the use of thoughtful, adaptable, and well-crafted strategies.